SARASOTA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, June 6, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Until the 1950s, most people were born and died at home. Many aspects of life have been medicalized, including death and dying. “Today, most of us are uncomfortable and unfamiliar with being with someone who is dying,” explains Sally Gabriel of Epilogue End of Life Care. “In the past, family members held a vigil and sat with a family member until they died. In the 19th century, the deceased family members were laid out in the parlor, in what we call the living room today. All that has changed as death and dying has moved away from public view; more people today die in hospitals and facilities than at home.” There’s a movement worldwide to bring death and dying back into the home and make it more personal and less medical. End-of-Life Doulas are playing a large role in making this happen.

Another important role of an EOLD is advance care planning. An advance directive, which includes a living will and a health care surrogacy appointment, lets families and medical professionals know what type of care you want and don’t want when you can no longer make their own care decisions. As part of an advance care plan, a person appoints a healthcare surrogate to speak for them. Shares Sally, “We recently created the Sarasota Area End-of-Life Doula Collective and will hold workshops on advance care planning. People can ask questions, and we will help them complete the necessary forms. I encourage everyone to complete an advance directive sooner rather than later. Many people won’t do their directives because of fear. I work with clients who want to talk about their fears of death so they can fill out their advance directives and make plans for the event of dying. And yes, dying and death are an ‘event’ for which we can plan, like a wedding or a graduation. I’m a big believer in planning ahead to get what we want.”

In graduate school, Sally was fortunate to study with Dr. Elisabeth Kübler- Ross, the Swiss psychiatrist who was famous for the five stages of dying and of grief. “When I studied with her, I was 22, and this was my first class on death and dying. Nobody my age talked about these subjects. I was impressed with her teaching style; she was open and knowledgeable. Currently, I am taking a grief education certification program with Dr. David Kessler, someone who worked with Dr. Kubler-Ross. He added a 6th stage to Kubler-Ross’ 5 stages, called Finding Meaning. I have learned to ask questions to help clients look for meaning before their lives come to an end.”

For many people who are dying, having a calm presence at the bedside is what they need. “Often, patients and family members don’t know what to expect when someone is dying. EOLD’s educate by explaining what happens at the end of life and what physical, mental, and emotional changes they can expect to see. We also provide help with legacy projects and life review, and seek to ease anxieties for everyone.” Sally goes a step further by offering grief support. “There’s anticipatory grief among family members, and the grief patients experience as they lose physical and mental capacities. Then there’s grief after the loss. Our culture doesn’t do grief well. We shut it down or try to avoid it. I like to teach people that the way we grieve is as individual as we are and there’s no right way to do it.”

A list of services Sally provides is available on her website at www.Epiloguecare.com. Visitors can find articles about death and dying on Sally’s blog.

Close Up Radio will feature Dr. Sally Gabriel in an interview with Jim Masters on Monday June 10th at 3:00 pm EST

Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio

If you have any questions for our guest, please call (347) 996-3389

For more information about Sally Gabriel please visit https://www.epiloguecare.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
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